


The magical world of: The Glade Dwellers

by AmyAberrant



Category: Glade Dwellers, GladeDwellersOfficial, Gladedwellers, No Fandom, Original Work, The Magical World of the Glade Dwellers
Genre: Autism, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Non-Binary Character, Cottagecore, Deaf Character, Discrimination, Dragons, F/F, F/M, Fantasy setting, Gender Dysphoria, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gladedwellers - Freeform, LGBT, Learning Disabilities, Multi, No Fandom - Freeform, Sex Work, Sex Worker, TMWOTGD, Trans, Trans Character, Whorephobia, Witchcraft, glade dwellers - Freeform, gypsies, marginalised, queer, the magical world of the glade dwellers - Freeform, travellers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28075845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyAberrant/pseuds/AmyAberrant
Summary: "I have bad news. The villagers have already discovered the site, and they're not taking it well. Return to the site at once, and take Scarlet with you"If you take a walk in any forest, you will eventually discover a glade, and if you take a walk in the forests of Viridi Terra around Pont Gerrig village, you may discover the glade dwellers, a group of diverse, unique, and gifted travellers, doing their best to support themselves and to survive, despite adversity.Take a step into their world of witchcraft, faeries, nymphs and dragons, and learn about their individual lives and relationships, in contrast to the lives of the strict and oppressive dwellers of the nearby village. These are the glade dwellers and this is their story.
Relationships: OCs - Relationship, Own Characters - Relationship
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	1. Glade dwellers chapter 1: The glade

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is suitable for all audiences, however, there is some mildly NSFW content in later chapters. All chapters like this are labelled as such, so there'll be no shocking surprises!

Father Paisley ambled along on his usual stroll through the forest. It was a walk he had done countless times before, and had so far been uneventful. Nevertheless, he enjoyed his daily walk from the village to the rectory. It was peaceful and undisturbed, a guaranteed way for him to clear his head and do his rosaries in peace.

As he clutched at the beads, he started to make out a figure in the distance on a wayside bench. It was unusual for villagers to come this far this early in the day, he noted, but he kept on with his Hail Marys regardless.

As he came closer, he saw that the figure was a young adult, of indeterminate gender, deeply focused on playing the guitar. Their fingers worked delicately over the fretboard, as a small, red dragon lay snoring at their feet. Father Paisley did not approve of dragons being kept as pets. As he passed, the figure kept their almond eyes focused on the task at hand from underneath their unruly hair, seemingly unaware of the priest's presence. Father Paisley hurried on.

This person was clearly an outsider. There wasn't anyone in the village who looked like that, or wore such outlandish clothes. Father Paisley wondered which village they came from, if any, and how far they'd had to travel to get here. His questions would be answered sooner than he realised.

As the track came to an end, the land dipped down into a valley, much smaller than the one that was his home, a valley he walked through every day to get to the rectory. Father Paisley pushed the over grown branches aside and made his way down the hill. What he saw next made him stop in shock.

The usually empty valley was abundant with life and colour. Wooden caravans of various garish colours littered the glade, accompanied by either a horse or a small car. People of various ethnicities and identities buzzed around, blissfully ignorant of the aghast priest. Children were being bathed naked in metal tubs in the open air, women were inappropriately dressed, horses had done their business on the ground and it had been left to stink... the priest was horrified!

He clutched his rosary tighter and crossed himself, before fleeing back into the woods. This would not do! He had to warn the villagers of this indecency. As he ran, he passed the guitar player once again, silently cursing their androgyny and outlandish clothes as he passed.

Once he was gone, a nearby sapling started to shake and move. It's trunk narrowed and took the form of two thick, strong legs, two round hips, a toned tummy and an ample chest. It's low branches joined together into two powerful arms, with their leaves merging into weathered palms, fingers, and thumbs. It's upper leaves became a full head of long, golden hair. The nymph lifted her trunk-like leg, and pulled her root-like foot free of the crumbling earth. She did this again with her other leg, and then walked over to the guitar player on the bench.

"Valentine!" She barked, bringing them out of their hyperfocus.

"Oh hi Beverley" Valentine replied "I didn't know you were here"

"I have bad news. The villagers have already discovered the site, and they're not taking it well. Return to the site at once, and take Scarlet with you" she said, nudging the red dragon awake with her gnarly foot.

Valentine swore as they jumped to their feet, slinging the guitar onto their back.

"Thanks Bev" they replied "come on Scarlet"

"I'll come with you" the nymph insisted, "I need to call a meeting with the other travellers. Don't worry. The nymphs have your back."

And with that, the pair ran back to the glade, dragon in tow, to warn the other travellers. The androgyne's short legs struggling to keep up with the nymph's long, muscular ones. If the priest had returned, for whatever reason, he would have seen two people of very different size and species running side by side, but the travellers saw two equals. That's the way it had been for generations. The travellers had always been connected with nature and woodland spirits, and the woodland spirits returned that sentiment. Travellers rarely feared woodfolk the way gorgers did.

Valentine and Beverley skidded down the grassy bank into the valley. The travellers' heads turned when they saw the nymph arrive.

"Sorry to interrupt your morning, but you've been rumbled!" she announced, as Valentine slinked away to their parents' with Scarlet in tow.

"A villager has been seen running back to the village in a state of urgency. I don't want you to panic, and I know you've just arrived, but I wanted you to be prepared in case the worst happens."

The sound of grumbling rose from the glade. The Worst was unthinkable, especially as they'd already settled in. Tents had been pitched and stoves had been set up only the night before! Everyone had had a good night's sleep, and awoken feeling pleased with their new, temporary home. They didn't want anybody to threaten that. At the very least they wanted to be able to stay for dinner.

*

Valentine sat on the patchwork quilt of their parents' bed, nervously twiddling their thumbs. Beside them sat their mother- a stout black woman, with curly hair and beautiful almond shaped eyes, and their father- a slender white man with chestnut hair and hazel eyes. Valentine didn't usually go into their parents' vardo, as they'd had their own since they were a child, but today they were feeling anxious.

"Don't you worry" said Valentine's Mother, who's name was Mrs Valentine, because that was a family name as well as a first name, "those villagers don't scare me! They're all the same as the others!"

"They scare me" Valentine replied, stroking Scarlet's wing to stim.

"Leave it with us," said Mr Valentine gruffly. "We won't back down easy."

And with that they sat on the bed together, Mr, Mrs, and Valentine Valentine - taking some slow, deep breaths - with the dragon between them.

Evening had fallen on the camp, the kind of evening that allowed for eating outside. The travellers unfolded tables and chairs and placed them in a circle in the centre of the valley. Vegetables were being unloaded from the food trailer and prepared by various people. The horses had been fed, and their business had been cleared away. The travellers liked evenings like this, because they brought a sense of community you didn't have if you were eating inside separate vardos.

The sun had set, but the glade was illuminated with the lights of hundreds of faeries who had decided to join them! Children were stopping their chopping to give pieces of carrot and courgette to the faeries, which the faeries enjoyed immensely!

Valentine approached a tall, dark skinned girl with long hair  
"Hi Priscilla" they said

Priscilla said hi and gestured to the chair next to her. She knew Valentine often found it easier to communicate one on one than with the entire group.

"How was guitar practise?" she asked

"It was mostly peaceful" they said to the floor. "I've been learning a song to play to Grayson."

Priscilla smiled "I think he'll like that" she said, and she kissed Valentine on the cheek.

Valentine looked at Priscilla and smiled, then they looked around the clearing. Everyone was enjoying making the dinner. Chopped vegetables had gone into pots on various stoves, mixed with rich, spicy sauce, and rice was bubbling away. Mrs Valentine was marching around with a bottle of alcohol rub in each hand.

"Hand washing time! Everybody wash your hands if you haven't already!" she yelled. The children who hadn't been involved in preparing dinner, gathered around her to disinfect their hands, while the adults went into the privy block to wash theirs with soap and water. Valentine and Priscilla had done theirs already, so they remained seated and looked up at the stars.

"It's amazing to think we've been to so many different places, but we're always under the same sky" Priscilla mused  
"All of us are," Valentine replied "travellers and villagers alike."

Priscilla squeezed Valentine's hand "I think we'll be fine here babe" she smiled

"I think you're right" Valentine smiled back.

They picked up their plates and made their way towards the food line, completely unaware of the faces peeping out from the bushes behind them.


	2. The gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, with longer and more adventurous ones to come later!

Priscilla stepped down from her vardo and made her way through the glade, her bare feet stepping over tools and discarded children's toys. As she wandered, she noticed three brown packages at the edge of the clearing. She approached them with caution, and called the other travellers to join her.

When the friends opened the first package, they found jars of marmalade and jam, sealed with bright gingham cloth and tied with ribbons. The second package contained some packets of painkillers and bottles of children's medicine. The third package had packets of crayons and coloured felt tips. A note was attached to the outside of the brown paper. It read: "Please accept this offering, we hope it can help in some way - The people of Pont Gerrig Village"  
"That's not at all bad" smiled Niamh

"You don't know what's in it" quipped Nancy, her sister "it could be poisoned for all we know"

"Well the pills are packaged" pointed out Ruby, but we don't know about the medicine and the jam"

"Nevertheless, I trust the pens are safe" said Priscilla, and she called the children over. She split the packets of pens and crayons evenly among the children, and tore up the brown packaging, and gave it to the children who's families didn't have any paper. There was a flurry of thank yous and hugs, and then the children disappeared away, keen to focus on their new creations.

Priscilla turned back to the group and investigated the medicine bottles.

"The seals are intact, these bottles are unopened." she announced. "I say we distribute these among the families. Free medicine is not to be sniffed at. And we can take the jam to Parker to test for poison." she said of her brother, the apothecary. And with that, the group gathered the new found possessions, picked up the remaining litter, and got to organising themselves, leaving the land the way they had found it.

*

Valentine sat on their bench once again, having another try at practising the song, their hazel eyes focusing intently on the chords. Suddenly, they were aware of a presence nearby. They looked up and realised a villager, a young boy, had been standing on the track, for goodness knows how long, staring at the mysterious traveller.

"Hi" Valentine started

"What's your name?" the boy replied

"Valentine" they said

"No your first name"

"That is also Valentine"

"So you're Valentine Valentine?" the kid asked in surprise

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because that's the name I chose." they replied firmly

"But what's your REAL name?" the kid pressed

"Valentine Valentine." they replied, which was true, because it was the name everyone used for them, so it was as real as anyone else's.

"But what's your birth name?" the kid asked, still not backing down.

"That's not the kind of question you should ask someone" the traveller replied.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" The kid asked.

"No." the traveller replied.

The kid sighed and sat down beside Valentine "what have you got there?" he asked, realising he was getting nowhere with the previous conversation

"This is my guitar" the traveller explained, "I painted it myself, I'm learning to play a song for a friend of mine."

"Why?" The kid asked. Again.

"Because I want to impress him" they replied, forgetting that that's not a "normal" thing to tell a stranger

"Are you gay?" the kid asked

"You ask too many questions" the exhausted traveller replied.  
"So are those people your tribe or something?" the boy asked

"They're basically my family" they replied

"So you're related to all of them?" the kid asked in shock

"Not really it's just an expression" the traveller sighed. "My parents are my only family. Now please, let me practise."

The boy hopped down from the bench

"Oh and by the way" Valentine added, "thanks for the jam, it was delicious."

"What jam?" the boy asked in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The magical world of: The Glade Dwellers"  
> Also known as "Glade Dwellers"  
> Chapter 2 - The gift  
> This is a short chapter but some of the later ones are longer  
> Glade Dwellers is a multichapter, as yet unpublished book. Currently it has 32 chapters.


	3. The apothecary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet a new character, Priscilla's brother Parker

Parker Pruneau stood in his vardo and opened his wooden cabinet. He ran his fingers past the many labelled bottles of various potions and chemicals, and settled on a brass syringe. He took the syringe and carried it over to his bureau, where he sat and inspected the three jars of jam before him.

Adjusting his glasses, he picked up a jar and removed its gingham covering and lid. He then removed the lid of one of three glass dishes, all filled with a clear liquid, and unpackaged a fresh needle.

Parker attached the needle to the syringe, and set about extracting jam from various levels of the jar, and depositing it into the clear liquid. He watched through the glass as the needle made it’s way to the bottom of the jar, and then pulled back the plunger of the syringe, sucking the red liquid up into the barrel.

Once he was satisfied that he had enough samples in the dish, he returned it’s lid, and set about doing the same process with the other two jars. He would check the liquid in 24 hours, for any signs of chemical reaction, to ensure that it was safe to eat.


	4. The cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of Glade Dwellers - "The cave"

It had been a week since the travellers first arrived on that fateful day, and the glade that had once been green and lush was now dry and yellowed, having been trampled by wheels, by hooves, and by feet. The ground was strewn with worker’s tools, children’s toys, and boxes of various produce.

Travelling through the glade, you would see various industries in bloom: a man digging a vegetable patch, a woman stirring fruit and sugar together on a camp stove, and a girl winding wire around stones to make jewellery. On passing these activities, you would eventually come to the end of the camp, and would be met by an elaborate, turquoise vardo, with yellow wheels, and an ornate yellow stairway.

Surrounding the vardo were three raised plots, arranged into a sort of haphazard allotment, and covered with protective netting. One of the plots had a sort of makeshift greenhouse over it, constructed crudely out of Perspex panels, to warm the air within.

Out of the vardo steps a young blonde, no older than 20 years of age, carrying a pink watering can decorated with blue flowers. She steps down the wooden steps of the stairway, and onto the ground, powder blue canvas shoes making their way across the mud.

She pours water across the various plots, and then bends down to inspect her plants - jagged leaves, made up of seven long, pointed leaflets. She rubs the leaf and breathes in its powerful scent. Indica. Nancy’s pride and joy, and a career she was most dedicated to. 

After Nancy had watered all of her plants, she took a handful of leaves and buds, crushed them into a small tin, and put it into the pocket of her white denim shorts. She then climbed back into her vardo, wiping her feet as she went, ready to start the long process of drying and curing.

  
*

Ruby grabbed her pink, crocheted cardigan and pulled it on, wrapping it around herself to keep out the cold. She picked up her log basket and made a beeline through the green grass of the glade, towards the edge of the forest.

Ruby scoured the forest floor for any bits of broken wood she could find, her red shoes making their way through rows of plump red toadstools. She managed to find a couple of broken branches, and popped them into her basket, but the real gold was down at the beach; wood that was already smoothed and shaped and polished by the sea, wood that she didn’t have to carve or sand herself.

After a slow descent, Ruby finally reached the point where the brown dirt of the forest floor reached the golden sand of the beach. She carefully stepped down onto the soft sand, trying to avoid getting any in her shoe, before strolling out along the beach. There wasn’t any driftwood nearby, but Ruby thought that she would find some if she walked further along the beach, towards the rocky cliffs.

*

Parker opened his bureau and took out his collection of petri dishes. He turned them over and inspected the jam extracts and clear liquid inside, anxious to see if any chemical reaction had happened over the last couple of days. Benign. All of them. The jams were genuinely just gifts from friendly villagers. Parker let out a sigh of relief, removed his spectacles, and rubbed his tired eyes. For a while he had been fearing the worst, as he always did when they started a new settlement, and was concerned that foul play was afoot. The glade dwellers would, no doubt, experience discrimination from the people of the village, as they did in some form with every village, but it was a relief to know that there were some villagers who were extending genuine kindness to them.

Parker put his glasses back on his face, and got up to deliver the good news. He flung open his vardo door, and looked out upon the camp. He saw his sister, Priscilla, sat in the grass, teaching a group of children. Her hands signed enthusiastically, as she dictated a story for the children to write down, each of them focusing hard on their letter formation. Parker also saw Grayson Moon sitting with his sister, Shelly, a learning disabled young woman. Grayson seemed to be providing a separate writing activity from the one the children were doing, and Shelley was paying close attention.

“Guys!” Parker called out. “The jam is safe!”

A series of whoops and cheers emitted from those who were around to hear the announcement.

“It should be shared among the families” he added, with a silent “who need it most.” implied at the end of the sentence.

As if reading Parker’s mind, Priscilla replied

“I think the Aristovs could do with one.”

Parker gave her a knowing look, bid the glade dwellers goodbye, and retreated back inside his vardo.

*

Ruby strolled back along the beach, her wicker basket bursting with pieces of smooth, polished wood ready for engraving. As she walked, she saw several dancing beams of light, emitting from a cave in the nearby cliff. Never one to ignore a thing of intrigue, Ruby broke off from her stroll back to the glade, and made her way over to the cave.

She had to climb some rocks to get close enough to the entrance, and then was able to lean across with both hands, and stretch upwards to look through.

The light was emitting from a single lantern hanging in the centre of the cave, and was reflecting off an elaborate, hanging chandelier. Ruby marvelled at the extravagance of the piece, and at how it made the light split into millions of rays, which then illuminated the cave.

She realised that the cave was filled with wooden boxes, many of which were labelled “cigarettes”, “pharmaceuticals” or “feminine care”, there were also boxes labelled with words in languages she didn’t recognise, and boxes that had been broken open at the side, spilling their contents onto the floor. The contents seemed to be anything from tea and spices, to gold and perfume, and even what seemed to be condom tins!

Ruby’s eyes darted from side to side as she tried to take in the scene before her. Whoever had acquired these goods was sitting on an absolute fortune! This was a bigger supply than she’d ever seen at the camp, and it was clearly not obtained legally.

On closer inspection, Ruby noticed a line of swords leaned up against the wall of the cave, and then saw a pair of long brown boots walk into sight. She had seen enough.

Ruby clambered down the rocks as quietly as she could, using one hand to keep her balance, and the other hand to steady the basket hanging from her shoulder. She felt for the ground with her foot, which disrupted the basket, spilling pieces of driftwood loudly onto the rocks below. Panicked, Ruby turned and ran, with no time to hide the evidence, and only the shelter of the cliff walls to obscure her from view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The magical world of the glade dwellers by Amy Aberrant


	5. Village Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first long chapter of the story! The first chapters were short and good for setting up scenes/scenarios, but this is where is really gets going. Village Day is a very important event for the glade dwellers, and this chapter explores why, you also meet many new characters.

A week had passed since the travellers arrived, and village day was approaching! The group had spent their first week at the site making jewellery, painting pictures, tie-dying fabric, sewing patchwork quilts, and making anything they could out of the contents of the fruit and veg trailer. They had enough jars of jam, sauce, chutney and pickle to fill a small trailer. Another trailer was filled with textiles pieces such as blankets, quilts and clothes, and a third trailer was filled with jewellery and art. Jewellery was Priscilla's speciality and art was Valentine's and Grayson's.

Valentine stood in the space between their's and their parents' caravan, brush in hand, touching up their final piece of art, a landscape piece. Grayson Moon approached from behind and put a hand on their waist.

"Still not done I see?" he teased

Valentine smiled "I feel like there's something missing here" they replied, pointing to a space between two trees.

"Beverley" Grayson joked, knowing that villagers usually feared nymphs, and probably wouldn't want one in their painting

Valentine laughed it off, but Grayson continued

"Yeah you could squeeze her in here and make it look like she's another tree" he joked, imagining a village family owning this painting and having no idea what was hidden in it.

"I don't think so" Valentine replied, "I'll probably just put a badger or something"

"Suit yourself" Grayson chuckled, and with that he went to get his own painting to put it in the trailer.

Valentine cursed their own lack of communication. They respected Grayson as a good friend, but wanted him to be more. They couldn't tell when people were interested in them, and didn't know how other people could. Priscilla had been encouraging, but Valentine needed to do this themself. Valentine put their brush into the tan paint, thoughtfully. They found themself painting a tree in the background of the painting, and adding curves and long hair. It was done so subtly, that without looking closely, it just looked like another tree. Valentine smirked. Grayson was clearly a bad influence on them.

The next morning, the travellers were awoken bright and early by the sound of their alarm clocks. Valentine rushed out of the vardo to check that the painting was dry. The majority of it was, although the secret tree nymph remained a bit sticky to the touch, but they trusted that the villagers wouldn't touch the paintings.

Valentine took the painting off it's easel and ran to put it in the art trailer, taking care not to let any other pieces lean on it or touch the surface. It would be fine for transporting, as long as it stayed untouched. As they were clambering out of the trailer, they nearly bumped into Ruby, the white witch. She was also carrying one of her crafts- a carved wooden sign that said “welcome.”

“I see you missed the deadline too” she smirked

Valentine dramatically looked left and right and put their finger to their lips, letting out an exaggerated “shhhhh”

Ruby giggled and waved Valentine away, so she could get to her section at the back of the trailer. Valentine noticed, with dismay, that Ruby had already produced many beautifully carved, ornate pieces, and tried not to feel disappointed with their offering of three painted guitars and one mediocre canvas. They bade Ruby farewell, then ran back inside to get dressed and washed, so they could rejoin the group, and pretend that their artwork had been handed in ages ago!

Joseph, the leader, was addressing the group in preparation for village day. In fact, he was giving the same address he did for every village day, for as long as Valentine could remember:

"We have enough food to feed several village families" he announced, gesturing enthusiastically with his weathered, brown hands "enough linen to dress many beds, and plenty of herbal medicine and remedies. This will hopefully please the villagers, and make them aware of our resources." Valentine agreed with this sentiment, but they hated the idea that everyone had to provide services to prove that they weren't a drain on society. Then again, this was their best way of making money. And they needed money.

Valentine saw Grayson's pale face on the other side of the group. They pulled a face and he pulled one back, silently agreeing with Valentine's mixed feelings.

"As always, a portion of the money we make will be put into the kitty, and will be distributed among those who's disabilities prevent them from taking part. Priscilla has volunteered to be in charge of the kitty" he said, gesturing to Priscilla, who curtseyed dramatically. "Now, have our artists all completed their works?" he asked. "Valentine do you have your guitars?"  
"Yes I have three painted guitars in the trailer" they replied "and one canvas"

"Brilliant! Now don't price them too cheaply this time!" he laughed "and Grayson what about you?"

Grayson tossed his black hair out of his face, looking slightly caught off guard, as if he had been looking across the group and hadn't been paying attention.

"Uh I have two canvases in the trailer" he said

"Perfect!" Joseph replied "Now, everybody band together! Secure the wagons and saddle up the horses!”

*

Grayson reached up to tie down the flaps of the artwork wagon, his strong arms worked at pulling and tying the cords, and his muscles bulged slightly beneath his short sleeves. Grayson reached higher, his black tee-shirt rising up to expose his toned midriff, and then pulled downwards to tighten the canvas. As he worked on a difficult knot, Grayson absent-mindedly flicked a strand of long dark hair out of his eyes, letting it settle on his broad shoulders

“Valentine? Valentine?”

Valentine snapped out of it. They suddenly realised their dad was talking to them, and had been for goodness knows how long.

“Yes. Sorry.” they replied

“The trailer is ready” Mr Valentine said “don’t worry about the artwork, it’s all safe in there.”

Valentine stood up and followed their father to the trailer, briefly pausing to look back at Grayson working. Grayson turned to see if the trailer was ready to go, and then caught eyes with Valentine, Valentine jumped when they realised they’d been caught looking, but Grayson just smiled at them. Valentine awkwardly gave a little hand wave and then retreated to the trailer.

*

Valentine sat at the edge of the trailer wagon, the wind blowing in their curly hair, with Priscilla sat beside them. Children sat cross legged in the middle of the wagon, with the adults around the edge to keep them safe.

Priscilla could sense Valentine's nerves, so she put her hand on theirs

  
"There's nothing to worry about" she said, "everything will be fine."

Valentine turned to kiss her gently

"If they like us they like us, if they don't they don't" Valentine reiterated, as they always did.

"And once this is over we won't have another village day for a month" Priscilla reminded them.

"Wooo" they replied quietly.

"Have you spoken to Grayson about what we talked about?" Priscilla muttered

"Not yet" Valentine said under their breath "I need the right time"

"Okay baby" Priscilla replied, her hand on Valentine's waist "you need to be sure."

"Yes" Valentine replied, "sure that he wants to join us."

At that moment, they turned into the Verdewodd Village. Local people were already awake and going about their business. Faces turned and mouths dropped at the sight of the colourful procession. Two shire horses lead the group, each pulling a wagon full of people, followed by covered trailers of food produce and linen. After those, there were motorcars pulling trailers of paintings, clothes and jewellery, then there were motorcars carrying families and small groups. Each trailer was draped with some form of produce, in order to advertise it to the villagers. Necklaces and dream catchers hung from the frames of the wagons, fabric and hair ribbons were tied to the back, and the produce trailers had signs on them saying things like "Mrs Valentine's special sauce" and "Mr Green's gooseberry jam."

Before long, the procession reached a square in the centre of the village. The travellers climbed down from the wagons and opened up the trailers.  
"Roll up!" shouted Joseph "Get your food! Get your linen! We've got fine art and jewellery!"

The villagers gathered around. Priscilla and Valentine made their way to the art trailer and climbed in. Valentine grabbed two of their custom guitars and Priscilla grabbed a wooden box of hand made jewellery. Priscilla's parents shortly followed, to bring out a patchwork quilt they'd been working on, their hands still rough and stained with dye. Priscilla's brother clambered out of the jar trailer, carrying a box of colourful medicines, all in glass bottles with paper labels.

Valentine walked among the villagers, one guitar in each hand, looking around for someone who seemed willing to buy. "Hand painted guitars! Fifty coroas each!" they cried "Quality artwork for a good price!" Selling art was always harder than selling necessities like food, clothes, and linen, especially when the art was something only likely to be enjoyed by musicians, but Valentine continued doing what they were good at, even if it didn't always sell. Sometimes they'd bring the same guitars to three or four village days before anyone took any interest. They looked around the square for anyone who looked like they might be musical, and ended up approaching a group of young boys.

"Hand painted guitars?" they offered

"Ooh a flower guitar!" one replied "just what I've always wanted!"

"Great!" Valentine replied "It's fifty coroas"

"That was sarcasm." The boy explained

"I'm not very good at sarcasm" Valentine explained, before excusing themself , and moving on to find another potential customer.

*

Shelley sat outside her vardo drawing a picture. She wasn't able to take part in much of the village day contributions, but she was able to draw pictures. Her brother, Grayson, had taken a collection of her pictures to sell. He promised her that they would make a lot of money! Shelley wasn't too sure how much "a lot" was, but she was glad to help. She looked up from her drawing to check on the horses, this was one of her favourite jobs, because she loved animals. She walked over to a horse, Willow, and picked a handful of grass to feed her. She stroked Willow's nose the way she had been taught to, and said "good horsey". Stroking animals always made her feel happy, so she liked that she was given the job of caring for them so often.

Having jobs made Shelley feel useful. She looked around the clearing and saw a light from Emilie's vardo. She decided to check on her, as she was getting old now, and could always do with the company. Shelley went inside her own vardo and grabbed a piece of cake from the side. She knew how much Emilie loved cake.

*

Grayson got out of his car and went round to the trailer in the back. He reached in and grabbed his two portraits- a landscape piece of the sea, and a portrait of one of the horses. As he reached, his arm passed over a stack of drawings wrapped in a note. The note said "pictures drawn by a disabled artist – please give what you can."

Grayson approached a group of young ladies, and tried to interest them in either of his paintings

"Not bought your caravan today love?" one asked

"Nope, I decided to leave my home at home" he replied smoothly

The ladies giggled and asked about his horse painting. He let them know that it was worth 30 coroas, but of course they could have it for 20! He left the group with one less painting and a woman's phone number. He took his 20 coroas back to the trailer, and put ten of them by Shelley's drawings. She'd be happy when he gave her this money later, and she could see how much she'd "earned!" He switched his landscape painting from one arm to the other, and got back into the crowd.

Valentine's parents had made a lot of money from jars of sauce and jam, but Valentine hadn't sold any guitars. They wondered if it was worth putting them back in the trailer, and trying their luck with the canvas. As they turned back, they bumped into the boy they met on the track the week before.

"Hello Valentine" he said

"Hello... you" they replied, realising they didn't know his name

"I'm Jacob. Did you paint those guitars as well?"

"Yes I did but no one wants to buy them" they replied

"Did you play for that guy you were trying to impr-"

"SSHHH!" Valentine snapped, looking around them to ensure Grayson wasn't in earshot

"Enough of that" they said "I need you to help me." Do you know anyone who plays guitar?"

"The church has guitars, he replied, I'm sure someone from the church will want one.

"That's great" Valentine replied "can you take me there?

So Jacob lead Valentine towards the church. As they went, Valentine passed Grayson with a group of young women, and saw that he was showing them Shelley's drawings, to sympathetic response. Valentine was glad that Grayson was doing well, but wished that their attempts at selling had the same results.

As they approached the church, they saw a Priest walking towards them

"Father Michael!" Jacob called "we have guitars for sale!"

"Get away from that girl!" The priest boomed "Those people are nothing by trouble!"

"Actually I'm not a girl" Valentine said to the floor

"What are you?" the priest demanded

"I am Valentine Valentine and I am an artist" they replied boldly "and I am selling my wares so that I can have food that isn't home grown."

"You are a layabout and you are not welcome in this town" the Priest replied, as Valentine and Jacob started to power walk in the other direction.

They arrived back at the trailer, just as Grayson was putting some money into it.

"Grayson” Valentine barked "where is Joseph?"

Grayson pointed the androgyne in the direction of their leader

"Thanks I'll explain later" they replied

And at that, they took Jacob's arm and hurried over to Joseph, to tell them they might not be able to stay much longer.

*

Niamh left the confines of the young man's house and said goodbye, she folded the bills and stuffed them deep into her bra. She had earned enough money from the brief encounter to feed herself for at least a week. She wiped her hands on her tie-dye shift dress, and fixed her messy blonde hair as best she could, as she rejoined the group. She made eye contact with Nancy across the group, and a nod informed her that her twin had sold off her various herbs. They would both be eating well tonight! In the corner of her eye, she saw a disgruntled priest approach the group, and get intercepted by Joseph, who seemed to have been pre-warned that he was coming. She glanced at Nancy again, and they surreptitiously made their way to the car.

The travellers made their way back to the site, but luckily, it was not before time. Thanks to Joseph's persuasion, they had managed to stay until the end of the day, and were travelling back as the sun was setting. Their trailers had been mostly emptied, and had been refilled with produce from the local shops. Priscilla had sold all of her jewellery, and had even had a hard time keeping onto the box! ("This is nice! I can put my hairbands in it!" a local woman had exclaimed) and Grayson had sold everything he came with, and spent some of the money on a tray of cakes, which he was now carrying on his lap in the car. Parker's herbal medicines sold less well, as many of the villagers saw such things as "wicked."

"How did your day go?" Priscilla asked Valentine

"I sold a painting of a nymph to a village family" they replied

Priscilla looked impressed. "Grayson is a bad influence on you!" she exclaimed, causing V to smirk, they could only imagine his offended response to that comment if he was there!

"How did you know it was his influence?" Valentine asked

"A lucky guess."

*

Grayson was impatient of driving behind the wagons. He wanted to get home to Shelley and the others. He couldn't wait to give Shelley some of the money and watch her face light up! As the group approached the site, he saw a light from Emilie's caravan. Sure enough, the rest of the group had congregated in there, and were bonding over cups of tea, unaware of the generous amount of money and food they were about to receive.


	6. The Aristov Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new family is introduced!

Anastasia awoke in the family bed and sat up. She looked up at the clothes lines, which zig-zagged it's way above the family bed, and started to choose a dress. Anastasia stood on her tiptoes, and pulled down a pretty yellow dress. She took off her pyjamas, and pulled the dress over her head. For a second it appeared to be stuck, and only her tightly curled hair could peek through the head hole. Anastasia felt around with her fingers, until she found a button that needed undoing. Patiently, she fiddled with the button until she managed to undo it. She was pleased to discover that she could now do this one handed!

Anastasia heard a grunt from the left of her, indicating that her brother Luka was waking up. Luka was older than Ana, and fairer in complexion, but he and Ana both had the same golden brown eyes as their mother. Anastasia pulled down her dress and turned to look at her brother resting beside her.   
"Morning!" she said cheerily

Luka grunted a reply

"Guess what" Ana announced "I can undo a button with one hand!"

"Fantastic." Luka replied drily.

"Morning!" said a voice. Anastasia turned to the right and saw Valeriya, their mother, turning over to look at them.

"Hi Mummy" she replied "when I'm all dressed can I go and play?"

"Okay" Valeriya replied "if you're back in time for breakfast."

Anastasia crawled to the end of the bed, and rummaged through the drawers underneath it, finding socks, underwear, and some hair clips. Her hair could be combed properly when she got back. Once she was properly dressed, she put on her shoes and cardigan. Valeriya popped a golden pocket-watch into Anastasia's pocket, and told her to come back when the big hand was pointing to the six.

Anastasia climbed down the steps of the vardo and ran towards the vegetable garden, where Mr Valentine was digging.

"Good morning chicken!" he smiled "how can I help you?"

"I just wanted to see the garden" she replied

Mr Valentine showed her everything that had been planted since moving day, as well as some plants that had been uprooted from their previous site and replanted.

"Mr Valentine can I have a strawberry?" she asked

"Of course" he replied, and he picked the biggest, sweetest looking strawberry and gave it to her.

Valeriya watched the interaction from the steps of the vardo and smiled. As Anastasia munched on the strawberry, Valeriya popped back inside and began to boil a kettle. Anastasia said thank you to Mr Valentine, and went on her way, dripping red juice on the grass as she went. A butterfly darted across Anastasia's path. As Ana was a very little girl, she was still very easily distracted, and so she followed the butterfly across the glade and into the woods.


	7. A misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a sweet chapter about Valentine and Priscilla, and it explores autism, and communication in relationships. It also deals with intersectional discrimination. I enjoy writing chapters about Valentine and Priscilla's love. It's also the last filler chapter before a big adventure happens! Stay tuned!

Valentine woke up in Priscilla's arms, in the safe confines of Priscilla's vardo. They rolled over, and looked up at the hanging prisms that were suspended above the bed, casting rainbows onto the vardo walls. Valentine glanced down to the natural light coming in at the little window, which was adorned with green drapes, embroidered net curtains, and hanging dream catchers. Below the window was a counter, cluttered with books, potions, a small black cauldron, and many crystals. Priscilla had specific methods for where each crystal in her vardo should be placed, based on their precise vibratory frequency, and Valentine found this arrangement incredibly busy.

Priscilla loved her vardo. She felt that the green decor was “restful to the eye”, and evocative of nature, but Valentine found Priscilla's excess of trinkets and fabrics overwhelming to look at. They couldn’t understand how anyone could find such clutter to be restful! Their own vardo was kept tidy and neat, which they found much more reassuring.

Valentine sat up and rubbed their eyes, turning to slide their feet into their painted wooden clogs, and absent-mindedly stroking the small green dragon that slept by Priscilla's feet. They got up and walked over to the cupboard that was used as a pantry, and took out the box of eggs Priscilla had got from the farmer's market in the previous village. Priscilla loved to wake up to a cooked breakfast, and Valentine loved to make them.

*

As the eggs began to spit and bubble, Priscilla began to stir.

“Good morning sunshine” Valentine smiled

Priscilla just stared up at the ceiling.

“I thought I’d cook up a celebratory breakfast”

“Celebrating what?” Priscilla asked with a dull voice

“Having our first village day go so well!”

“Well?” Priscilla retorted

“Well it may have had it’s ups and downs,” said Valentine, serving up the eggs, “but you know what they say, ‘all’s well that end’s well!’”

“Huh!” Priscilla replied.

*

The couple sat at a small table eating the eggs on toast, while Emerald the dragon chewed at crusts on the floor. Priscilla had been unusually quiet since she awoke, but Valentine just assumed that was because she was tired.

“You know, I don’t know why I always worry so much about village days” Valentine rambled “they’re never as bad as I think they’re going to be. This time we made a lot of money, even Nancy did, and also I saw this kid, Jacob his name is, he’s very accepting of gypsies, very interested in us, almost a bit too interested, and Grayson made a lot of sales, and got a lot of girl’s numbers! He sold all Shelley’s drawings as well…”

While Valentine offloaded information about their day at the Village, Priscilla sat and contemplated her toast.

“Ruby sold most of her engravings, Eaven sold some of them too! They’re trying to raise money for Eaven’s insulin. I don’t know how much insulin costs, but they did make a lot…”

Emerald flew across the vardo and landed roughly on the counter, disrupting the crystals that had been expertly arranged there.

"Get off!" yelled Priscilla, rising to her feet and flapping her arms at the dragon "naughty girl!"

Emerald staggered backwards and knocked over a pile of books, then darted under the bed and hid there. Valentine was shocked by Priscilla's sudden and uncharacteristic outburst.

"Priscilla! Are you okay? Is something wrong?" they asked

"Do I look okay?" Priscilla snapped, and she slipped her feet into her shoes, opened the door, and stepped out of the vardo, still in her night clothes. Priscilla crossed the glade and locked herself in a privy block, for lack of anywhere else to go.

After some time communicating with Priscilla through the privy door, Valentine understood that an incident had happened at market day. While Valentine was gone, a village boy had shouted at Priscilla, and called her an anti-traveller slur. He had become aggressive, and Nancy had had to defend Priscilla and chase him away. Valentine assured Priscilla that they didn't know that she was upset, and that they would have asked what was wrong had they known. They had just misunderstood her silence as sleepiness.

It was at that point that Valentine heard Priscilla stand up and unlock the privy door. Valentine stood up and came face to face with a tear stained Priscilla. They hugged her tight, and reassured her that they were there for her.

"I know, I'm sorry" Priscilla sniffled.

Valentine took her hand instinctively and lead her down the stairs from the privy block.

As they walked back to the vardo, Valentine saw other travellers turn their heads and avoid eye contact. Was this to avoid the awkwardness of noticing the drama, or was it because they knew what had happened to Priscilla yesterday? Valentine didn't know, and they cursed their inability to detect loved one's feelings, even as Priscilla was squeezing their hand to reassure them it was okay.

On returning to the vardo, and after getting properly dressed, the pair sat down on the bed to talk. Priscilla told Valentine that this village seems more hostile than the previous one, and it's making her anxious.

"Did anyone else get harassed?" Valentine asked "I mean other than you, and me with the priest incident?"

"No" she replied "the boys ignored Ruby and Eaven and that lot and just yelled at me, and then one came over."

"I wonder why-" Valentine started, but a look from Priscilla told them everything.

Priscilla knew exactly why a group of village boys would ignore a group of white girls and go straight for her. Their "concerns" were not solely with the new arrival of travellers.

Valentine stared at the floor, suddenly hit with the extent of what Priscilla had gone through.

"These people think they can control us and push us away!" Priscilla ranted "disrupting our market day with violence and trying to make us leave!"

"But it's okay now" Valentine reassured her "Joseph spoke to the priest"

"Spoke to the priest?" Priscilla exclaimed, jumping to her feet "Don't be naive V! It will take more than just speaking to these people to let us stay. Joseph paid off the priest, like he did at the last village, and the village before that, and the village before that!"

Valentine suddenly realised that the group were not as secure in their settlement as they had previously thought. The group's shared money was meant to be used for food, medicine and maintenance, it was not meant to be used for bribes. The group should not have to give this money to villagers in order to have peace and security.

Valentine said they were sorry for everything that had happened, and held Priscilla for as long as she needed.

When Priscilla was finally feeling okay, Valentine got up. They told her they were going to get something, said goodbye, and left the vardo. As they made their way across the clearing, they saw a strange man walking towards them. Hoping he wasn't one of the perpetrators, Valentine confronted him.

"Who are you?" they demanded "what do you want?"

"I'm- um- a guy" he replied nervously "I'm looking for Neon” he said, referring to Niamh’s work name.

Of course he was! How did Valentine not consider that he could be one of Niamh's clients?

"Does she know you're coming?" they asked, keen to protect Niamh from potential stalkers "you can't just turn up."

"Sorry, uh, yes she does" he replied, scrutinising the floor, “she told me to look for a caravan with a neon tapestry.”

This put Valentine’s mind at ease

“It’s that way” they said, pointing him in the direction of Niamh’s eye-catching vardo.

"Kthanksbye" the stranger mumbled, as he awkwardly walked off.

Valentine kept on walking towards the woods, briefly wondering if they could ever do work like Niamh does, and deciding that they probably couldn't, but that Niamh seems to enjoy it. As they wandered in search of flowers for Priscilla, Valentine became deep in thought about the complexity of life, and how many people exist in the world, all with different opinions and choices, when the tree beside them began to shake.


	8. An emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emergency happens, and the glade dwellers have to band together to save the day! This is also the start of the main conflict of the story.

As Valentine focused on the flowers they were collecting, the tree began to move and twist. It's branches became strong arms, it's trunk became a pretty face and a firm body, it's roots became strong, muscular legs, and it started to uproot itself from the ground and walk towards Valentine.

"Valentine" a voice barked.

They turned to see a seven foot nymph staring at them.

"Morning Brynn" they said

"There's trouble afoot" she replied "Anastasia got lost in the woods and two women grabbed her, they were last seen down at the coast, please get help."

Without a second thought, Valentine dropped the flowers they were picking and ran back to the clearing, bumping straight into Grayson.

"Hey honey is something wrong?" he asked

"Anastasia's been kidnapped" Valentine replied "get help!"

Grayson sprang into action, he called Mr Valentine, who was still gardening nearby, and Mr Valentine called Joseph. Valeriya came out of her vardo with horror in her eyes, fearing the worst.

A group quickly assembled for the rescue. The group comprised of Joseph, Mr Valentine, Valentine, Grayson, Valeriya, Luka, and of course, Brynn. They ran through the forest and down the hill towards the coast. As they ran, various nymphs appeared from the trees and ran with them, so that their group had doubled in size by the time they reached the craggy shore.

Valentine stepped down onto the sandy beach, following the lead of their father and Joseph. The six humans and six nymphs walked across the sand shouting Anastasia's name, and peering into every cave they could find. Eventually, Mr Valentine noticed a drop of red juice on a pebble.

"It's the strawberry!" He exclaimed "She must have held onto it after she was taken!"

The group followed the drips until they found the entrance to a cave. Suddenly two women appeared. One was eastern looking with dark hair and one was western looking with white hair. They both had on corsets and dresses with flat heeled boots, and came bearing swords.

"Get in." The white haired woman said. The group of humans entered the cave.

"Not you." The raven haired woman barked at the nymphs. So the Nymphs waited outside.

The cave was damp and dark, and almost completely empty, save for a few wooden barrels, and a crude, wooden cell built against the back wall, which made it apparent that taking hostages isn't a rare occurrence for these women. Beside the cell, there was a line of ten other women, dressed in similar clothing to the ring leaders, and all bearing swords, and in the centre there was Anastasia, looking surprisingly calm, and covered in strawberry juice.

Valeriya ran to her child and threw her arms around her, crying and praising the Gods that she was okay. Luka stood by Joseph with a determined look. The white haired pirate circled the group.

"We thought you would come" she announced, "but we didn't think you'd bring half the forest with you" she finished, gesturing to the nymphs on the beach outside.

"Just give us back the child" Joseph said sternly

"I'm sure you can give us something in return" the dark haired woman replied. "I enjoyed the gift, she said, producing Valeriya's golden pocket watch from her bodice, but I'm sure there's more where that came from." 

The travellers realised that, in their haste, they'd forgotten to bring any sort of ransom. As they had only been spending time in the glade, none of them happened to have any money or jewellery on their person.

"What about you? Southern boy?" the dark haired woman asked Valentine, referring to their dark complexion.

Valentine realised this was not the time to correct someone on their ethnicity or gender, and began rummaging through their pockets. They found a bracelet that Priscilla had made for them, and handed it over.

"It looks worthless" the smuggler replied.

“Esmé my love, please don't be rude to our guests" the blonde said mockingly "I apologise for my wife's abruptness" she added. "The pocket watch and bracelet will be enough for now. We can't promise to be so lenient in the future..."

"We have next to nothing" Luka said sternly "If you're looking for gold and riches you've come to the wrong group. We're travellers who live by simple means."

"Then I'd be careful walking in the woods if I were you" she said ominously, "you never know what might happen."

And with that, they let the group leave, Valeriya carrying Anastasia on her hip, showering her with love and kisses, holding Luka's hand as she walked. The nymphs walked behind the humans in solidarity.

"Watch out next time!" Esmé yelled from the cave entrance "the rest of us aren't as nice as Astrid! Consider this a warning!”

They walked along the beach in groups. Mr Valentine and Joseph at the front, the Aristov family were next, Valentine and Grayson both lagged behind them, then the Nymphs – Brynn, Beverley, Aideen, Sakura, Akito, and Maple walked at the back.

As Valentine walked, breathing deeply to calm their nerves, Grayson caught up to them and put an arm around their shoulders.

"Don't worry" he said "they probably just meant to scare us. We don't have anything that's worth much anyway."

Valentine relaxed into Grayson's hug. He was right. This was probably just their way of keeping gypsies away from their beach.

"I'll tell you something though, it worked" Grayson said, as if reading Valentine's mind "I'm not coming down here to paint any more!"

Valentine sighed

"What's wrong?" Grayson asked

"I lost the flowers I picked for Priscilla" they replied, eliciting a laugh from Grayson

"Only you would think of flowers at a time like this!" he said "were you trying to make her feel better after last night?"

Valentine appreciated Grayson's ability to seem like a mind reader. It certainly saved them from having to explain things all the time.

“Yeah" they replied simply

"Well don't worry" Grayson said "I'll help you pick some on the way back."

Suddenly a figure appeared at the foot of the hill. A young blonde woman was frantically running towards the beach. Valentine recognised her as one of the twins.

Which one are you? Luka asked bluntly, as she landed on the beach.

"It's Niiiamh!" she yelled, passing Joseph and Mr Valentine to hone in on the Aristov family. As she reached them, she threw her arms around Valeriya, Anastasia and Luka all at once, loudly declaring her love for them.

"My baby I was so worried I missed you!" she cried, with comical drama, that made Luka giggle and Anastasia squeal with excitement. Niamh had always had a very fond love for children, and a strong sense of duty to defend anyone from harm. As soon as she heard what had happened, she cursed her own absence from Ana's rescue party. If she had been aware of the situation she would have dropped everything to help, even entertaining a client. She compensated for her absence with belated support, kissing Anastasia, and letting Luka ride on her back all the way back to the site.

Valeriya sighed as she carried Anastasia back through the forest. That pocket watch was a rare thing Ana and Luka had to remember their father by. It had been his, and it had become a family heirloom after he passed away. She knew that as Anastasia got older, her memories of her father would fade, so she wanted to keep any heirlooms for her and Luka to remember him by. As she watched Luka giggling and bouncing along on Niamh's back, she couldn't help but worry about how the incident would affect him later, when it finally hit him.

Valentine and Grayson watched the travellers return to the camp, but hung back in the forest with the nymphs. The ordeal was finally over, and they had flowers to pick and bonding to do.


	9. Two become three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sweet moment between Valentine and Grayson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> princet is the gender neutral term for prince/princess

Valentine and Grayson walked leisurely through the forest, picking wild flowers along the way. After a moment of quiet, Grayson said

"You're a very attentive partner, Valentine.”

Valentine smiled "maybe it's in the name" they suggested.

"Hm... Valentine was the patron saint of love" Grayson mused,

"I'm not sure how saintly you are though!"

Valentine responded to this by throwing leaves at Grayson, which he threw back in retaliation.

As Valentine raised their hands to protect their face, Grayson took the opportunity to pluck two wild flowers from their hands. As Valentine cried out in indignation, Grayson pierced the stem of one of the flowers with his nail, and deftly threaded the other flower through. He continued this sequence by picking a couple more wild flowers and threading them onto the chain. Valentine joined in by grabbing a handful of blue flowers from the ground, and adding them to the bouquet.

"Seems we're going to have a lot of adversity here" Valentine said "first villagers, now pirates!"

"Give me the villagers any day" Grayson replied "at least they have shops."

"I hear they have a laundrette too" Valentine replied "if that's true we won't need to use the mangles"

"Hallelujah!" Grayson cried dramatically, placing his hands in a prayer position, the flower chain hanging from his hands like a rosary.

Valentine giggled at Grayson's theatrics, and continued with their flower arranging.

"I wonder where those pirates came from" they said.

"Nowhere near here I'm sure. The ring leaders seem to be from outside continental Westenlandt." Grayson replied "I'm not sure about their accomplices. They didn't speak enough for me to detect an accent." 

Indeed Astrid had the snow white complexion and white hair of someone from the northern isles, while Esmé had the golden skin and dark hair of someone from further east. Their accents also showed that they were from foreign lands.

"Do you think they're really married?" Valentine asked

"Goodness knows" Grayson replied "they might just be in love" and with that comment, he used a final flower to create a loop, to finish the flower crown he was making.

"Look here" he said gently, and he placed the crown on Valentine's head.

"Thank you" Valentine smiled, trying not to get distracted by Grayson's blue-grey eyes, and failing terribly.

"You look so pretty" Grayson told them "like a princet."

Before Valentine could formulate a reply, they heard their name being yelled from across the forest. It was Priscilla running towards them. They could tell by her voice, even before they unlocked eyes from Grayson. Priscilla caught up to the pair and hugged Valentine tightly.

"I heard what happened and the others returned and you weren't with them" she said to the two of them. "I was so worried!"

"We were picking you flowers" Valentine replied, giving her the bouquet and watching her face light up, "to make you feel better after yesterday."

Priscilla threw her arms around Valentine once more, and gave both Valentine and Grayson a hug and a kiss.

"They're beautiful" she told them both "thank you so much!"

She then noticed Valentine's flower crown and delicately tousled it.

"Grayson made it for me" Valentine beamed

Priscilla replied with a knowing look, which wasn't too obvious, but wasn't so subtle that Valentine missed it.

"Well I'm going to join the others for lunch, are you two coming?" she asked

Valentine and Grayson agreed, and followed her back to the glade. As they walked, Valentine gently slipped their hand into Grayson's.


	10. An argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress happens with the Priscilla/Valentine/Grayson slow-burn relationship, Eaven tries to take matters into her own hands, Ruby overhears some interesting information.

Ruby stepped down from her vardo in her nightdress, slippers and dressing gown. She made her way to the storage trailer, and filled a sack with horse feed. She started by feeding her own family's horse, then she moved on to the Pruneau family (Priscilla's family), and the Aristov family.

  
  


Ruby plunged her hand into the sack and pulled out a handful of horse feed. She held the feed out for the Aristov horse, Tulip, and let her eat. Ruby enjoyed the feeling of serenity that she got from being with animals. She stroked Tulip's nose and gave her a kiss. There were less horses to feed nowadays. Many of the travellers had moved on to cars once they'd become more available, but Ruby liked the companionship you could get from a horse.

  
  


She said goodbye to Tulip and head for the accessible caravans, ensuring the elderly and disabled travellers had their horses fed. She would return later to do their mucking out for them as well, but wouldn't do that in her night clothes.

  
  


*

Priscilla and Valentine sat on Valentine's bed, already up and dressed. Valentine was wearing a red tee shirt tucked into a pair of denim shorts, and Priscilla was wearing an emerald green bandeau top with a matching long skirt.

"So let me get this straight" Priscilla started, "Grayson said if you need anyone to talk things through with, you know where he is?"

"Yes" Valentine replied

"And then he stroked your chin."

"Yes."

"And then nothing happened."

"No! Then he looked at you and stopped!" Valentine corrected her. "And then he said that you could go to him too!"

"You didn't mention that yesterday!" Priscilla exclaimed 

"I might have forgot." Valentine said. "He said I can go to him to ask him anything and so can you. He said "whatever you want!"

"Whatever you want or whatever I want?" Priscilla asked 

"I don't know" the androgyne replied, but it seems like he wants you too.

Priscilla let out an excited squeal

"You're interested huh?" the androgyne asked 

"Have you SEEN him??" the girl enthused in response. "Imagine if we were all together! The three of us!"

Valentine imagined it would raise a few eyebrows round the campfire, but that most of the travellers probably wouldn't mind. When Valentine transitioned from their assigned gender, the group were largely supportive. It didn't take long for them to remember their correct name and pronouns either, but relationships were often a different matter. Valentine knew that people often saw relationships that were different as harmful or deceitful, but they also knew that they really liked Grayson.

"How would Shelly respond?" Valentine asked

"I'm not sure" Priscilla mused "we wouldn't have to tell her straight away. We would make sure her feelings are taken into account."

"Have I told you I love you recently?" Valentine asked

"Yes" Priscilla replied.

"Can I tell you again?"

"Yes."

Valentine hugged Priscilla "I love you baby!"

"I love you too!" Priscilla replied.

*

Ruby finished showering and turned off the water. She wrapped her hair in one towel and began to dry her body with another. When she was suitably dry, she put on her underwear and slipped into her long white dress and white shoes. She stepped out of the shower stall and stood at the sink opposite, applying her red lipstick. In the reflection, she saw Valentine and Priscilla come out of another shower stall. She pretended she hadn't seen this.

  
  


Ruby wanted to collect wood from the forest to make some more artwork. Village people generally liked wooden signs with words carved into them, which is why Ruby made woodwork her craft, plus she enjoyed collecting driftwood from the beach. Sometimes mermaids would come to the shore and bring pieces for her. Collecting wood was a nice, and essential, part of her day, and she'd be damned if smugglers were going to take that from her!

Priscilla stood at the sink next to Ruby and began adjusting her bandeau top and fixing her hair.

"What's the plan for today, Ruby?" she asked "More witchcraft?"

"Foraging" Ruby replied "and I won't let those smugglers stop me."

And with that, she left and made her way back to her vardo. Priscilla turned to look at Valentine, who was stood at another sink, and raised her eyebrows in amusement.

*

Parker sat on the steps to his vardo, with a basket of wet clothes by his side, and a mangle in front of him. He had just gone through the laborious task of washing his clothes with a washboard and soap, now all he had to do was wring out the excess water, and hang them up to dry.

  
  


As he bent down to pick out an item, he heard a loud clap. He sat back up, shirt in hand, and looked around for the source of the noise. In front of him there was a very determined looking Eaven.

“I need help” she signed

Parker asked what was wrong

“Insulin” Eaven signed, simply

Parker looked downcast, he didn't know how to break it to a child that he couldn't help her with something so important.

“I'm sorry” he started “my products are herbal remedies, they're useful for helping with tummy problems or headaches. They can't help with diabetes.”

  
  


Eaven frowned, pulled her hands into fists, and stamped her foot hard into the mud, causing it to splash up her sock and onto her bare leg. Parker didn't take this personally, he knew that this anger wasn't directed at him, but at the helplessness of the situation. He knew this must be an upsetting situation for anyone to deal with, especially a child.

  
  


He put a corner of his shirt through the mangle and turned the handle absent-mindedly, thinking of what to say next. He knew there was nothing to say to make it better, so he continued wringing his shirt, giving Eaven time to calm down by herself. Finally, he draped the shirt over his bare forearm so he could sign again, and gave Eaven a simple “sorry.”

  
  


Eaven pointed at the now wrung out shirt, and signed “need any help with that?”

Parker faltered. Before he could even think of a reply, Eaven walked over, took the shirt, and carried it over to the washing line. She stood on her tiptoes and pegged the shirt onto the line. Eaven and Parker spent their afternoon like this, Parker wringing his wet clothes with the mangle, and Eaven hanging them on the line. Eaven knew that with her help, the job would be done quicker; and besides, at times of desperation, she always felt that the best response was kindness.

*

Ruby walked through the woods, with freshly dried hair and a basket under her arm. She had already collected some pieces of wood from the floor, but had a saw ready in case she needed to take any branches from the trees. Sometimes she did need to take a piece from a tree, but she always asked permission, and she always left something behind for the tree. That way she was leaving the forest essentially as she found it.

Sometimes a nymph would bring her pieces of wood, which meant she knew the forest was happy for her to have them, and she knew she wasn't harming any trees, or any nymphs, but today the woods were eerily quiet.

Ruby kept walking and collecting pieces of wood, until she reached the beach. She stood at the edge of the forest, listening to the waves on the shore. She looked left and right to ensure that there were no people around and prepared to take a step. Suddenly a whirl of green intercepted her and pushed her back. It was Emerald, Priscilla's dragon. She flew at Ruby and blew smoke at her until she retreated further.

"What is it girl?" Ruby asked. Out of nowhere, Esmé stomped out from behind a rock, promptly followed by Astrid. Ruby dived behind a tree and hid there quietly.

"Honestly I don't know why I married you!" Esmé ranted

"Esmeralda will you calm down?" Astrid replied.

"Don't you "Esmeralda" me! She retorted, followed by a stream of something in her native language.

"Esmé please I cannot understand you" Astrid replied, as Esmé turned to face her.

“The supplies we have are worth a lot of money!" Esmé continued in the local language. "They're sitting ducks where they are at the moment. We need to move them to the ship"

"That's ridiculous" Astrid replied. "Moving that amount of-" she adjusted her volume "moving that amount of food and medicine around is too risky. Plus our crew is too small. We don't have enough women to do it."

"We can do anything! We're lesbians!" Esmé exclaimed.

"Can you please be serious-" Astrid started, followed by a stream of things in her own native language.

Before long, the women were both ranting at each other in their own languages, neither of which the other could understand, with only the odd word of the local language thrown in here and there. Ruby decided she had seen enough, and started to make her way back to the site. She clearly wasn't going to get anywhere with the driftwood, and she had horses she needed to deal with. 


	11. An outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another trip to the village, this time with even more drama!

Mrs Pruneau announced that today would be laundry day. There was a launderette in the village, and a group of them could take a trip there to use the washing machines. She suggested it would be better to transport things in cars than on horseback, so for this trip, motorists were given the task of transporting everybody's laundry.

As it was decided that taking four passengers didn't leave enough room for the bags, each car would take no more than three. Priscilla volunteered to travel in the car with the twins, and Grayson offered to take a man called Lorenzo, who relied on crutches to walk, so he could give him assistance. As Shelley decided she didn't want to go, and as Lorenzo needed to sit in the back seat to stretch out his leg, Valentine ended up sitting in the front seat beside Grayson. After squeezing in as many laundry bags from as many people as possible, and a box of Lorenzo's home grown vegetables, they set off in Grayson's little blue car.

  
  


Valentine held the straps of the bag by their feet, and fiddled with them in an attempt to ease their rising nerves. Occasionally they would glance over at Grayson's strong arms, and ring covered hands. Finally they plucked up the courage to speak. 

"Is Shelley feeling okay today?" they asked 

"Oh yes! Just as strong as ever!" he replied, probably referring to her fiery temperament.

"I'm sorry if I said the wrong thing the other day" Valentine replied "about the adventure."

Grayson dismissed this with a wave of his hand.

"She's a lovely lady!" Lorenzo piped in "She's helped me out many times!"

"That doesn't surprise me" Grayson replied. "She cares for everybody."

The car entered the village and made it's way down the winding streets. Before long they came to the village launderette. Valentine noticed that Jacob was playing nearby with some friends. As the car came to a halt, Grayson got out to assist Lorenzo, and Valentine got out and started unloading bags. Jacob and his two friends came over to watch. Valentine entered the building, and then realised they were faced with the task of communicating with the owner.

The owner was a thickset woman with dark hair in a messy bun and winged eyeliner. She came out from behind the counter, and asked Valentine if they needed help.

"Yes please" they replied "we have a lot of stuff"

The lady came out from behind the counter, and made her way past a wall of tall, pastel blue dryers with silver rimmed doors, toward the shop door, and took two bags from Valentine. She carried both bags with ease, despite the fact that they were big and full to the brim. She placed them down on the pink and white chequered flooring, by a washing machine which had a small, dark haired girl sitting on the top.

"Get down Patricia" she snapped. Patricia got down just as Grayson and Lorenzo entered the building. Grayson carried his bags over to where Valentine's were placed, and Lorenzo made his way to sit down on a bench in the centre of the room.

Valentine went out to get more bags. Jacob and his friends, a blonde boy and girl who looked to be siblings, were still outside playing on the street.

"What happened to that man?" The girl asked about Lorenzo

"He was just born different," Valentine replied, "what are you doing out here?"

"We're waiting for Patricia to come out to play. What's your name?"

"Valentine" they replied "and yes it's my real name" they added, reluctant to answer all the same questions again. As Valentine turned and brought in Shelley's bags, the girl wordlessly picked up Emilie's bags and carried them in behind Valentine.

"Look at you helping!" The launderette owner exclaimed. "Patricia! Why do you never make yourself useful like this?"

"Sorry mum" Patricia grumbled, and she went to get the rest of the stuff.

The group had barely got the laundry sorted before the next cars arrived. One of the cars stopped outside, and out got Priscilla and the twins.

"We've got a full house!" The owner exclaimed. "Go on then Patricia and Jenny, go and play with the boys. Make yourselves scarce."

Patricia and Jenny scampered out the door before she could change her mind.

"Thank you Mrs Simon!" Jenny called out

"Please, call me Caroline!" she replied.

Nancy sat on the bench with Lorenzo, who had by now finished sorting his things, and began sorting the Aristov family's laundry, making small talk with him about how he was doing. Lorenzo told her that he had a box of fruit and vegetables in the car that he wanted to sell. Maybe one of the local businesses would be interested in buying them? Nancy offered to help him sell them once the machines were loaded up.

*

Nancy and Lorenzo walked the streets of Pont Gerrig, searching for somewhere that looked like it sold sauces, jams, or anything where fruit and vegetables might be of use. They'd been rejected by four businesses already. They reached the door of a café and, as Nancy was holding a heavy box, Lorenzo rang the bell. 

"What do you want?" Came a voice from above. They looked up to see a frowning woman looking out of the upstairs window. 

"Sorry to interrupt" Lorenzo replied, "but we wondered if we could interest you in some home grown vegetables."

"Do you think we don't have vegetables round ere?" She asked.

"No mam" he replied "but we've got lots of them and they're going for a good price, fruit too."

"I've a good mind to see you lot out of town" she snapped, at Nancy this time "coming round 'ere, causing trouble..."

"Me?" Nancy asked, taken aback

"Yes you! I know what you've been doing all over town. Fooling around with married men. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Nancy suddenly realised who the woman thought she was.

"Well I don't know anything about that!" she replied "You must have me mistaken for someone else. Good day!"

And Nancy and Lorenzo quickly moved on.

"Oh don't be shy!" the woman called. "Stay! Have a cup of tea!" And she grabbed a half empty cup of tea from the window sill and threw it at the pair. Luckily it had already gone cold.

Nancy screamed and grabbed Lorenzo's arm with the hand that wasn't taking the weight of the box. "Retreat!" She shouted. 

They both turned and ran back towards the launderette, to the sound of the woman's cackles.

*

Priscilla was sat with Grayson, watching the laundry spin. Valentine had "conveniently" gone to the shops after finishing sorting laundry, so they were left to chat together, as the other travellers dried and folded their clothes.

"Couldn't you technically have sorted this with magic?" Grayson asked quietly

"Not with people around" Priscilla muttered, sliding closer to him so she could talk quietly.

"Go on" he said. "Do something."

Priscilla took out her wand, whispered a spell under her breath, and gave a flick of the wrist. Suddenly the bubbles in the washing machine started to form together. As the laundry spun, the bubbles formed the shape of a butterfly.

"You like butterflies huh?" Grayson asked 

"They're the only thing I'm good at." Priscilla replied, letting the bubbles dissipate.

"I'm sure that's not true, you must be good at other things."

Priscilla thought for a moment.

"You'll have to ask Valentine" she replied with a smirk 

"Oh really?" He asked slyly "and what would Valentine say?"

"I don't know" she smiled coyly

"You must have some idea" Grayson said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, "what do you think Valentine would say you're good at?" 

Priscilla scrutinised the floor, then brought her eyeline up to the ornate detailing on Grayson's shirt – a silver moon and golden sun embroidered into black silk, finally she looked up at Grayson's face. His expression looked inviting and warm. A glance over Priscilla's shoulder told her they had relative privacy.

"Well...” she started

Suddenly the door burst open. Priscilla froze instinctively

"NIIIIAMH!" Shouted a voice 

The entire room turned to see Nancy, soaking wet and livid, followed by a wet and crying Lorenzo.

The room turned the other way, to see Niamh stood at the other side of the room, rooted to the spot.

Priscilla dashed over to Lorenzo to comfort him. Nancy marched over to Niamh.

"What have you been upto?" Niamh asked, perplexed 

"Me? What have YOU been upto?" Nancy replied

"I didn't do anything!" Niamh insisted.

"Really?" Nancy replied, putting the box down roughly on the bench "well they did this" (she gestured to her wet hair and clothes) "because they thought I was you!"

Niamh suddenly felt everyone's eyes on her, like she was completely exposed, and felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes.

Caroline came out from the back room to see what all the fuss was about. Nancy saw her over Niamh's shoulder, and switched from speech to sign language, confident in the assumption that gorgers don't usually understand it.

The pair signed aggressively at each other for another minute, while the other travellers awkwardly looked at the floor to avoid eavesdropping.

  
  


"If you don't cut this out I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Caroline announced. "I won't have any drama in my launderette."

This was when Priscilla came to the rescue.

She had helped Lorenzo to a bench and cleaned him with some towels she found. As he'd had to run with crutches, his leg was hurting a lot, so she had propped it up on a box of washing powder.

"Please help us!" She cried. "My friend is disabled and he's been attacked."

Before she could say another word, Caroline waddled over at high speed to take care of Lorenzo.

Nancy grabbed a random towel and walked out the building, with Niamh following behind.

  
  


"Are you okay?" Niamh asked Nancy once they had got outside

"No I'm cold and wet" she replied, trying to towel dry her hair

"Here, let me help you" Niamh replied, taking the towel and doing the bits that Nancy couldn't reach.

"It should have been me" Niamh said quietly

"No it shouldn't." Nancy replied "you don't deserve this."

  
  


The pair sat down on the curb and Niamh put her arm around Nancy. Before long, Patricia, Jenny, Jenny's brother, and Jacob came back to the launderette.

"What happened to your clothes?" Jenny asked

"Some crazy lady threw tea at me" Nancy spat.

"You should throw something at her" Jenny's brother replied

"Is Patricia coming back for her dinner?" Niamh asked. The children nodded.

"Don't go in there right now" she warned, "take another walk round the block."

The children thanked Niamh and did as she said.

"He's right you know" Nancy told Niamh.

*

Back in the launderette, Lorenzo had been given fresh clothes and a fresh, hot cup of tea. He was sitting with Grayson and chatting happily. The laundry had been mostly cleared away, and the travellers had settled the bill. Nancy and Niamh came back in at this point. Nancy sat down and dried her eyes, and Niamh looked through their bag to find Nancy a clean top. Valentine appeared in the doorway, with a chocolate bar in one hand and a drink in the other. They surveyed the scene in front of them with mild surprise. "Did I miss something?" They asked.

*

On the way home, Lorenzo didn't want to leave Nancy's side, so he travelled in the car with her and Niamh. This left Priscilla free to travel with Grayson and Valentine.

  
  


Niamh and Lorenzo sat together in the back of Nancy's yellow car, while Nancy drove, with various bags of clothes on the passenger seat beside her. Before long, Nancy looked out the window and cried "oh my God!"

"What?" Niamh replied

"I think that's her" Nancy said, pointing at a middle aged woman walking on the pavement 

"Nooo! The crazy tea lady?" Niamh asked

"Yes I'm certain" she replied. "Hang on, I have an idea."

*

Karen plodded along the pavement carrying her shopping. In the corner of her eye, she saw a yellow car pull up. The front window rolled down, and she was confronted with Nancy's face.

"Excuse me? Were you looking for me?" The blonde asked

As Karen stood aghast at Nancy's audacity, Niamh rolled down the back window

"Or were you looking for me?" she asked. 

Karen stared in shock at the two identical faces.

"Oh don't be shy!" Nancy teased "Stay! Have some vegetables!"

And at that point Niamh grabbed a tomato from the box on Lorenzo's lap and hurled it straight at her.

Karen screamed in shock and Lorenzo screamed with laughter, clapping his hands.

"Please! Have some more!" Niamh cried, as she hurled a plum straight at Karen's hair, the same way Karen had hurled tea at her sister's. Karen screamed and ran away, as the travellers roared with laughter, setting off in their little car towards the edge of the village. As they rounded a corner, Nancy chuckled to herself, and Lorenzo rocked back and forth with laughter, and they drove out of the village, towards the green hills and the setting sun.


	12. Watch the stars come out (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorenzo had changed his lift arrangements, leaving Grayson free to drive Valentine and Priscilla back to the glade. The three of them take a detour towards the beach, and things get interesting!

Valentine sat in the passenger seat beside Grayson, while Priscilla sat in the back between the bags. She had just finished filling Valentine in on everything that had happened with the twins, and Valentine had been intrigued by all of it, but now they had questions about other things.

"So, did anything else happen while I was gone?" Valentine asked deliberately.

Priscilla leaned forward in her seat and rested her forearm on the back of Grayson's seat "mayyybe" she replied, stroking his shoulder with the side of her hand. Grayson shivered as her touch moved towards his neck.

"What were you two talking about?" Valentine played along

"Magic" she replied.

"Yeah," Grayson replied "Priscilla was keen to show me her skills"

Priscilla nudged him for being cheeky.

Valentine stifled a smile.

"I'm sure she'll be keen to show you" Valentine said "as long as she isn't too shy."

Priscilla reached her other hand over to Valentine's shoulder and gave them an affectionate rub. At this point she was sitting between two back seats, with one hand on Grayson's shoulder and one on Valentine's, determined to establish a bond between both of them.

"Oh I'm not shy" she said "not with people I like.”

Grayson smiled to himself and flicked his hair out his eyes. As Grayson changed gear, Valentine was distracted by the shine of his silver rings.

"Oh I like these" they said, boldly putting their hand on Grayson's and stroking a ring with their thumb.

"They're from the market at the previous village" he replied. "Or the one before that, I forget."

Valentine took their hand off Grayson's so he could get back to steering. They had an urge to put it on Grayson's thigh, but instead put in back in their own lap, fiddling with the hem of their denim skirt. Priscilla gave Valentine a reassuring stroke on the back of their neck, letting them know she was proud of them for flirting with Grayson.

Valentine smiled proudly to themself and glanced back at Priscilla. She was sat between the two back seats with the laundry bags all around her. Her stance was such that she had a foot in each side of the car, and a hand on the back of each chair. She had an air of confidence and control about her demeanour. When she saw Valentine looking at her she smiled warmly at them and blew them a kiss. Valentine did the same back and looked back at the road. 

"If you like rings then I'm sure Priscilla can make you some" Valentine told Grayson.

"I can" Priscilla agreed "Magic isn't my only speciality."

"I'm sure" Grayson smirked

"And what about your speciality, Valentine?" He asked, "Did you finish learning that song on the guitar?"

"I'm almost there" Valentine replied.

Priscilla leaned forward so she could rest her forearms on the back of each seat. This way she could be more involved in the conversation. 

"You're getting better by the day aren't you honey" she said

Grayson told Valentine he was proud of them, and then reached over and squeezed their hand.

Valentine turned their hand over and squeezed back, before looking up at Grayson. They made eye contact for a brief moment before Grayson had to look back at the road, driving steadily on with one hand. Valentine and Priscilla beamed at each other excitedly.

"Maybe you could play for me some time soon?" Grayson suggested, unintentionally filling Valentine with dread.

"Oh I'm not ready for that yet!" they replied hurriedly, causing Grayson to look taken aback.

"But they would love to some time in the future!" Priscilla added, "wouldn't you honey?"

Grayson turned to say something to Priscilla, but became distracted by the way her curves looked in her flattering purple dress. He looked back at the road so he could focus on driving safely, and so he wouldn't be rude.

"That would be great Valentine" he said, "whenever you're ready."

Valentine stifled their smile in an attempt to seem cool. They looked ahead at the looming trees that told them they were getting close to home.

"It's getting dark in the forest" they said, placing a hand gently on Grayson's arm. It looks spooky."

Grayson licked his lips and looked thoughtful. He glanced sideways at Valentine, as if he was pondering something. Priscilla sat in the back seat looking between them both, as if she was watching a tennis match. Finally he spoke.

"The forest is spooky" he said thoughtfully, "but there's a turning here that takes us down to the beach. If we go down there we can watch the stars come out.

Valentine and Priscilla both turned to look at each other with intrigue. It was a very quiet beach. In the dark you could be completely undetected down there. You could get up to anything...

"Sure" Priscilla replied "we'd love to go to the beach."

*

The little blue car came to a stop on the hillside. The trio had a full view of the beach and the ocean, leading out towards the evening sky. The sun was still setting, which made the sky and the sea look a stunning gold colour. Grayson took a deep breath and took in the beauty of the landscape. He turned and looked at Valentine, who had the same expression of awe and wonderment.

They spent a moment just gazing into each other's eyes, then they both leaned in. Priscilla watched as Valentine's lips met Grayson's. They took each other's hands and stayed for a moment in an embrace. Grayson's right arm around Valentine, his left hand interlaced with Valentine's hand, his lips pressing into Valentine's lips.

Valentine pulled away slightly, to rest their nose against Grayson's and to breathe slowly. Grayson's hand stroked their arm reassuringly. Priscilla sat in silence and felt the calm of the moment. There were no sounds except for Valentine's breathing, and the song of crepuscular birds in the forest.

Finally, Valentine and Grayson pulled away from each other and looked back at Priscilla.

"Are we going to the beach then?" Priscilla asked.

*

Grayson and Valentine both opened their doors and got out the car. Grayson opened Priscilla's door for her, and took her hand, so she could step out over the bags. Priscilla closed the door behind her and Grayson pinned her against it. Valentine came round to their side and joined them.

Grayson held Priscilla and kissed her deeply, feeling her arms around his neck. Valentine came over, and Grayson pulled them into the embrace, kissing the top of their head, then their nose, then their lips. Valentine put their hands in Grayson and Priscilla's hands, and kissed them both. Before long they were all walking towards the beach, hand in hand.

The sun was getting lower, so a glimpse of twilight was making its way across the sunset sky, the waves were rolling softly onto the shore. Priscilla stepped from the earthen ground down onto the beach, dragging the other two with her. She walked them towards the shore and sat down with them on the sand.

Valentine was feeling increasingly nervous, and Grayson could tell. Grayson put his hand on Valentine's heart, and said "woah! Are you okay honey?" Priscilla gave Valentine a concerned look. Valentine was feeling dysphoric about having their chest touched, and gently took Grayson's hand off. Priscilla asked what was wrong, and Valentine replied that they were just nervous. They took a deep breath and held both of their partners' hands.

"I want Priscilla first" they said finally. Grayson stood up and excused himself, and walked towards the shore. He didn't want to overwhelm Valentine, or do anything they didn't feel comfortable with, so he was happy to keep his distance. He watched the way the moonlight sparkled on the waves, and tried to see if he could spot any mermaid tales in the distance. He was always looking for some good luck, especially with something like a potential new relationship, and mermaids are incredibly lucky! As he was doing this, he unbuttoned and removed his black silk shirt, keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon waiting until the others called him to come back.

Priscilla had held and kissed Valentine until they had managed to relax, and they were now lying on the sand in Priscilla’s arms. Valentine was watching Grayson's pale body as he paced the shore in the moonlight, while Priscilla used her fingers to prepare Valentine. When Valentine had assured Priscilla that they were ready, Priscilla called Grayson back over.

*

The trio tried to regain their breath, smoothed down their clothes, and held each other close. Priscilla couldn't stop praising and thanking Valentine. She squeezed Valentine's hand affectionately, as Valentine pulled her into their lap. Grayson put his arm around the couple to keep them both warm, and thanked them both for everything.

Grayson breathed in the night air and kissed the back of Valentine's neck, as Valentine nestled into Priscilla's hair. Valentine closed their eyes, listening to the sound of their still racing heartbeat. They moved their hand to Priscilla's chest, so they could feel her heartbeat too, and together they slipped into sleep under the stars.

Grayson breathed in the night air and kissed the back of Valentine's neck, as Valentine nestled into Priscilla's hair. Valentine closed their eyes, listening to the sound of their still racing heartbeat. They moved their hand to Priscilla's chest, so they could feel her heartbeat too, and together they slipped into sleep under the stars.


	13. A rude awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all!

Priscilla awoke feeling sleepy and bleary eyed. She felt the warm embrace of two sets of arms around her, and soft sand against her hip. She sat herself upright and tried to rouse the others.

"Come on. Wake up." She said. "Let's get out of here before the pirates find us."

Suddenly she felt the feeling of sharp metal against her back.

"Oh shit." She said.

Valentine and Grayson opened their eyes in shock. A stainless steel sword passed above both of their bodies, hitting Priscilla squarely between the shoulder blades. As Priscilla tried to adjust her dress to maintain some form of dignity, a familiar voice spoke.

"My my my! What do we have here?"

Valentine and Grayson turned to see Astrid holding the sword and looking very pleased with herself, closely followed by her wife Esmé, who looked as if she had struck gold.

"We were just leaving" Priscilla said

"It looks like you were doing more than that!" Astrid exclaimed, gesturing to the apparent remnants of their love making.

"Yes well we're going now" Priscilla replied, as the trio hastily gathered their things.

"Shame" Esmé smiled "It looks like fun! I would have liked to join you."

"Shut up Esmé" said Astrid.

"You have trespassed on our beach, possibly stolen our treasure, and now you've distracted my wife" Astrid declared, as the trio scrabbled for their shoes and underwear, "what makes you think I'm going to let you go alive?"

Grayson stood up and squared up to Astrid, matching her considerable height.

"Well I can't speak for your wife" he spat, "but we certainly haven't touched your treasure."

"Well someone's taking it" she said "and you're the only ones here."

It was Valentine's turn to square up to the pirates now.

"If we stole your treasure, we wouldn't be hanging around here would we?" they asked, feeling their sarcastic side come out  
"Ooh let's steal some treasure and then make love on the beach! What could go wrong?"

"And it's not your treasure anyway." Priscilla stated, joining the pair "it's stolen treasure."

"We stole it fair and square" Esmé retorted "and we want it back."  
"Well as you can see," Priscilla replied, flamboyantly gesturing around her "we don't have it." Now if you excuse us, we need to get home.

As Priscilla turned, Astrid cut off her exit with the sword, Priscilla looked down and froze on the spot, seeing how sharp the blade was, and how close it was to her skin.  
"Oh please let them live!" Esmé whined, "They're hot! Even the little one!"

"Thanks." Valentine snapped, at the backhanded compliment. It was clear that whatever Esmé's sexuality was, it didn't usually extend to people as confusing as Valentine. Valentine didn't care about this, but they'd quite like to live to be nineteen, and were feeling increasingly stressed about the prospect of that not happening.

"Please!" Esmé begged "they clearly don't have our stuff! It must have been one of the other gypsies."  
Astrid surveyed the situation. The group might not have stolen the treasure now, they might have taken it earlier and hid it in their caravans, then again, if you decide that, any of the gypsies could have it.

"How do we know you didn't take it back earlier?" she snapped. "You could have it in your caravan!"  
"We were doing laundry in the village earlier." Grayson stated, "We ALL were. If someone took your treasure it wasn't any of us. Now please, step aside so we can go home."  
Valentine took Grayson's hand instinctively and squeezed it for comfort, desperately hoping to get home safely.  
Esmé put a hand on Astrid's waist and whispered something seductively into her ear. Astrid's hardened expression began to soften.   
"Very well!" she sighed. "It's a shame. I was looking forward to seeing your heads roll, literally, but I will let you go."

She let her sword down, and the group hurried off before she had time to change her mind. "Tell your little [slur] friends that we'll find who's got our stuff!" Astrid yelled, and if it's one of them there'll be trouble!"  
All that Grayson could focus on was getting to the car, getting everyone inside, and speeding off. Once everyone was in, he reversed up the hill, looking out the rear windscreen over his shoulder. He did a three point turn and set off towards the glade, with a very exasperated and relieved Priscilla and Valentine in tow.


	14. Rumbled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio return to the glade, and try to regain some sense of normalcy after the incident

Grayson finally pulled up to the glade, panting and out of breath. The trio sat in silence, just trying to calm their nerves before they returned to the site. Valentine watched Grayson's chest rising and falling, noticing how his breathing was slowing after his initial panic. Valentine had never seen him this stressed before. They held and stroked his hand reassuringly. Grayson turned to face Valentine, and again they leaned in to kiss each other. 

The kiss was more fervent this time, after they'd all been through a traumatic experience. Grayson began to hold Valentine's face and say  
"I'm so glad you're okay"

He then reached for Priscilla's hand and said the same to her. He stroked her face and pulled her in for a kiss.

"We should have never gone down to that beach, what the hell was I thinking?" He ranted, fighting back tears.

"No!" Valentine and Priscilla exclaimed together, invoking a look of shock from Grayson. Valentine and Priscilla looked at each other for a second.

"We're glad we went" Priscilla told him

"Absolutely" Valentine replied, "regardless of whatever happens to us."

At this point, Grayson could no longer fight the tears. He held Valentine close and let the tears come, overwhelmed with a mix of too many emotions at once. Valentine held him and stroked his back silently, while Priscilla gave him a kiss on the head to let him know she was there. Finally, Grayson felt able to breath normally and wipe his tears.  
"It's okay" Valentine reassured him "we'll quietly drive in, leave the bags in the car, and get into our respective caravans- I mean vardos. No one will know we've been gone.

Priscilla agreed, so the trio spent a minute or so adjusting their appearance. Priscilla fixed her hair as best she could, Valentine adjusted their knee socks and their star patterned cardigan, and Grayson buttoned up his shirt. Taking deep, slow breaths, Grayson sparked up the engine and slowly drove into the glade, to find... a search party.


	15. The parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> slightly NSFW toward the end

The trio took a minute to comprehend what they were seeing. The entire glade had turned out, and were buzzing around in a panic. Some even had torches in their hands, although it was light by now, as if they'd been in the darker parts of the forest. Grayson and Valentine looked at each other, then at Priscilla.

"Fuck" they said in unison

Grayson saw his mother looking panic stricken, and couldn't sit still any longer. He pushed open the door and ran to her calling her name.

Mrs Moon turned and saw Grayson and ran to him, tears in her eyes. She almost seemed to have her arms open for an embrace, then she thought better of it, and gave him a clip round the ear and yelled at him for scaring her.

Valentine and Priscilla desperately tried to get sand off their clothes and fix their hair to hide what they'd been up to. Before they had time to get their story straight, people were surrounding the car and looking at them. Priscilla saw that Valentine was panicking, so she got out Valentine’s side of the car and opened the door for them, so they could face the travellers together.

The couple stood facing Ruby and Nancy, who looked as confused as they did worried.

"Sorry" Priscilla said "we went down to the beach and fell asleep."

This conversation was interjected by Mr Valentine running across and grabbing the couple into a tight hug. "Natasha! They're back!" He called to Mrs Valentine, who ran over immediately, quickly followed by Mrs Pruneau. The mothers hugged their children, while Grayson's mother dragged him into the throng by his arm.

"Where have you all been?" She barked

Valentine had gone withdrawn and non verbal by this point, so Priscilla had taken over.

"We went to the beach and then we fell asleep"

"But what were you _doing_ down there?" 

"We were- um-" she started, trying to take her mind off of what they actually were doing...

"We were being threatened by pirates" Grayson interjected

Suddenly the mood of the crowd changed from judgement to serious concern

"It's true" Priscilla agreed

"Astrid and Esmé were there. They pulled a sword on us and wouldn't let us leave and it made Grayson very upset"

Grayson nodded at this point. Mrs Moon cried "my baby" and threw her arms around Grayson. Ruby made a fuss of Valentine, and Mrs Pruneau hugged Priscilla.

"They said someone had stolen their treasure" Priscilla added "and they want to find out who it is."

The group went silent and Ruby and Nancy looked at each other.

Suddenly the mood of the questions went from "where on Earth have you been?" to "what did they do to you? Are you okay??" Rather than being reprimanded, they were ushered through to one of the main tents, sat down with their parents, and given hot cocoa. Grayson was still feeling very shaken, having taken on more trauma than the others, probably due to the fact he was the reason they went down there.

He started crying again, and telling everyone that Astrid held a sword at Priscilla. Mrs Pruneau lost her temper and stamped her foot, cursing anyone who would threaten her daughter.

"Darcy please be calm" Mr Pruneau said, putting a hand on his daughter's arm and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"What happened angel?" He asked.

"Astrid put a sword to my back and threatened us" she said shakily "then she put the sword across our exit and wouldn't let us leave. She said she wanted to make our heads roll! Literally!"

Mrs Pruneau threw her hands in the air and stormed out of the tent, cursing loudly in her own language. Mrs Valentine ran after her to ensure she didn't do anything foolish, while Mr Pruneau hugged his daughter.

"I think it's time for the kids to go to their vardos" Mr Valentine announced. "They've had enough panic for one day.

And with that the trio looked amongst each other, thanked Mr Valentine, and left.

*

Valentine sat on their bed cuddling their dragon, Scarlet, and stroking her little head. They felt bad about the fact they'd worried everybody, and basically lied to them by not telling the full story. Scarlet comforted Valentine by curling her tail around their waist, and snuggling into their arms. Suddenly Valentine heard the door open. They jumped in shock, expecting it to be one of their parents, and wiped the tears out of their eyes, but then Grayson's head peered round the door."It's only me" he said "can I come in?"

*

Grayson sat on the edge of the bed with Valentine, while Scarlet curled up behind them.

"I came because you looked anxious" Grayson said. "I wanted you to know that I'm sorry I put you in that position, and you didn't do anything wrong."

Valentine leaned into Grayson, letting him put his arm around them and kiss them on the head. 

"I was more worried about you" Valentine replied, "you seemed the most upset."

"It's just the shock" he replied "I'm sure it will pass in a day or two.

"Was this... a one off?" Valentine asked, "terrified that Grayson saw it only as a moment of fun.

Grayson then moved to kneeling in front of Valentine, his hands on their waist and his eyes looking into theirs.

"No" he said gently, as he kissed Valentine's mouth.

He sat down onto his heels, moving down Valentine's body so he was holding their hips. They stayed in this embrace for several minutes, breathing in sync with one another, feeling the anxiety melt away. Finally Grayson spoke

"Are you feeling better now?" He asked

"Yes" Valentine replied.

Grayson let go of Valentine's hips and looked up at their face. He then looked down their body and ran his hands along their skirt. He looked up at them to see whether they were enjoying this.

"I feel... unclean" they said, aware that they were still wearing the clothes they had made love in, slept in, and got sand on.

"I need... a shower."

"Would you like me to join you?" Grayson asked.

Valentine knew that this was a ridiculous idea, and that they could easily get discovered. They knew they shouldn't be taking risks like that so early into the relationship, and that doing so could make things even worse than they already were.

"I'd like that" they replied, kissing Grayson on the forehead.


	16. A well needed day off (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More about the main trio, but we also get some Nancy and Ruby content!
> 
> WARNING: NSFW

Nancy sat in her vardo listening to music. Suddenly there was a ferocious knock on the door. She sat bolt upright, got off the bed, and went to lift the needle off the record.

"Who is it?" She asked

"It's me" said Ruby "let me in."

Nancy breathed a sigh of relief 

"Come in then" she commanded.

Ruby stormed into the room 

"What did you do??" She asked 

"Nothing! I swear!" Nancy insisted 

"Who stole that treasure then?" The redhead asked

"I have no idea" Nancy replied "I promise it wasn't me"

"Okay" Ruby started, "so if I search this room I'll find nothing here?"

"Ruby you're being unreasonable." the blonde replied

"I understand that, after everything I said, it might seem like I stole the treasure, but I promise I wouldn't do that."

Ruby looked at Nancy, took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her own hair, and exhaled slowly.

"Okay" she said "I'm sorry. I've just been going through a lot with Eaven."

"It's okay" Nancy replied

"I just thought it was you, and I didn't want you to cause anything bad to happen to the others, or to yourself either."

"It's okay" Nancy told Ruby, putting her arms around her "everything's fine."

"I'm sorry I blamed you." Ruby replied, "I love you."

"I love you too" Nancy replied, kissing her gently.

*****

Grayson lifted his knee from the hard tiles of the shower floor, took Valentine's hand and pulled himself up to a standing position. He stood for a moment, just watching the droplets of water run down Valentine's body, and noticing the faint marks he had made on Valentine's neck and chest. Then he kissed Valentine's head and squeezed their hands.

"Pass your wash bag back under first" he instructed, then you go under, then I'll pass you the towels and clothes."

Valentine agreed and did as he said, first passing the bag, then sliding under the divide feet first. They then stood up and turned off the shower.

"Okay I'm ready" they muttered.

They had both planned this meticulously, eliminating any risk that someone could see them entering a cubicle together, or leaving a cubicle together. Grayson passed the towels under the divide, then Valentine's backpack of clothes, and Valentine took them and put them on the shelf. Valentine then heard Grayson's shower stop, and understood that he was getting dried and dressed.

Before long, Grayson was standing at the sink merrily brushing his teeth. Luka came in, and they gave each other a nod, before he went in to a cubicle. Grayson thanked the stars above that they hadn't risked leaving a cubical together while Luka was around.

Finally the door behind him opened, and out came Valentine, fully dressed in baggy pyjamas, slippers, and a dressing gown with a huge hood.

"What!" they said, in response to the look Grayson was giving them.

"If you thought I was going to be doing anything today after all that stress you had another thing coming!"


	17. Exposed!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine and Priscilla have a heart to heart, Grayson has some bonding time with Shelley, and Ruby makes a shocking discovery!

Valentine knocked on the door of Priscilla's vardo. When there was no reply, they let themself in. Priscilla was fast asleep in bed after the exhausting ordeal. Valentine moved towards the bed and gently shook her awake. 

"Hey" said Priscilla.

Valentine crouched down to her level

"I need you to do me a favour" they said, "I need it to seem like you did these" 

Valentine pulled open their dressing gown and showed the red bite marks on their neck and chest.

"Nice" Priscilla replied “then get in and cuddle me!"

Valentine did as they were told.

"Do you think Shelley was worried about Grayson?" they asked. 

"I hope not" Priscilla replied 

"We should check on her later" they suggested

"Hm" Priscilla replied

"Maybe after I've showered" she said, in dismay of how the sand had ruined her natural hair.

"Priscilla?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wish we had our own shower?" 

Priscilla smirked "I bet YOU do!"

"I'm serious" Valentine replied "like our own house with a shower and a toilet inside"

"It might be nice" she replied "but then we'd have to live in a village or town and go to church and follow rules"

"Not necessarily" Valentine replied "we could still be ourselves" 

"Could we?" she asked. "Me practising witchcraft and you being "confusing."

Valentine thought for a moment "maybe it wouldn't matter what other people think."

They rested together in silence for a while. 

"Do you ever want us to do what Joseph talks about?" Valentine asked "Go completely self sufficient?"

"What? Move away from all villages and just pick our own fruit and churn our own butter?" Priscilla replied. "Not really. Villagers are hostile, but their shops and trade are useful. I'd rather take some abuse and live in society than cast myself out of it."

Valentine thought about this.

"You're so smart" they said "that's why I love you." 

The pair rested together until they fell asleep, arm in arm, in the light of the morning sun.

*

Grayson knocked on the door of his mother's vardo. She let him in and gestured towards Shelley's bed. Shelley was sat on the bed with her hands balled into two tight fists against her chest. She was frowning at the floor and had a determined pout on her face.

"Don't worry angel I'm okay now" Grayson said 

Shelley didn't respond. Grayson moved closer to the bed, and Mrs Moon sat on her own bed. 

"I'm sorry if I worried you sweetheart, but I'm okay now" 

Shelley mumbled a response 

"What?" Grayson asked 

"You went on an adventure without me!" Shelley snapped.

"An adventure?" Grayson exclaimed "I was nearly killed!"

Shelley continued pouting at the floor.

"Is that what all this is about?"

Grayson looked at his mother, who shook her head in disbelief.

"This is all very silly" he said to his sister "I think you need to have a cup of tea and calm down. I'll put the kettle on."

*

Grayson poured out three cups of chamomile tea from the brass kettle. He gave one to his mum, one to his sister, and sat down with his own on Shelley's bed.

"Now what's all this about adventures?" he asked.

"You always get to go on adventures" she ranted "I've never even met any pirates!" 

Grayson sighed "you don't want to meet these ones" he told her "these are very dangerous women. With swords!"

Shelley looked even more impressed than she did before

"What happened on your adventure?" she asked

Grayson thought about what actually did happen on his adventure, and how he wasn't about to start detailing it to his mum and big sister.

"What happened was we nearly died" he said. "Now I promise you'll be able to come on an adventure at some point, if one comes up, but there's no need to go out of your way to be kidnapped by people who could easily chop off your head."

Shelley nodded thoughtfully.

"Would you like to go picking blackberries?" Grayson asked "we can make some jam if you like!" 

Shelley's face lit up

"We'll go to the forest on the _other_ side of the glade" he said "nowhere near any beaches or pirates. But we might find some faeries if we look hard enough."

Shelley clapped her hands with delight "yay faeries!"

Mrs Moon smiled with relief.

"I'm going to go to my vardo and get some things" Grayson said, standing up "then I'll come back and we'll go to the brambles. Is that okay?"

Shelley nodded and smiled warmly.

Mrs Moon stood and hugged her son

"Thank you so much! You're so good with her" she said.

Grayson thanked her for the compliment, and left to get his jacket and his mason jars.

*

Grayson and Shelley trudged back from the forest, carrying the mason jars by their wire handles. Shelley had three jars of blackberries, and a forth jar which contained two golden faeries. Grayson had let her know that they would put the faeries back in the morning, because keeping them for too long would be cruel.

"I want to share the blackberries" Shelley told him

"That's a very good idea" he replied

"Who would you like to share them with?"

"Mr Valentine and Mr Green" she replied "so they can use them for their jam."

"You're such a helpful person Shelley!" Grayson exclaimed. "They're very lucky to have you!"

Shelley beamed with pride at the fact that she was helping other people.

As they entered the clearing, they saw Priscilla leaving the women's shower block, with a gold summer dress and a towel on her head.

"She looks so pretty" Shelley said

"I want to show her my faeries."

Shelley approached Priscilla with her arm outstretched, holding out the jars. Grayson watched as she showed Priscilla the faeries, and explained that we have to put the faeries back in the forest in the morning. Priscilla pressed down the golden lid, said a few words, and made golden leaves fall down onto the faeries. The faeries danced in the leaves, and Shelley squealed with delight. 

Grayson approached and praised Priscilla's spell.

"Thank you" she replied "guess who's on horse duty in the morning and completely forgot!"

"Oops" Grayson replied

"You can help me out with it if you like" she teased "I could do with a hand!"

"You can feed your blackberries to the horses" Shelley naively interjected

"That's a good idea Shelley" Grayson replied.

"I'll see you early in the morning" he told Priscilla 

"Late at night maybe" Priscilla hinted.

Grayson gave her a knowing smile and moved along, leading Shelley towards Mr and Mrs Valentine's vardo. Shelley bid Priscilla a cheerful goodbye, and skipped ahead. Grayson lagged behind, and let Shelley climb the stairs to the vardo, knock, and greet the couple herself, keen to let her gain independence and confidence.

As he watched Shelley greet Mrs Valentine, a determined Ruby stomped into his line of vision

"Grayson!" she groaned "I know you've been through a lot, but you've been back a while now, and I really need my clothes.”

Grayson suddenly realised that he still had various people's bags of laundry in his car, including Ruby's and Eaven's.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed "I completely forgot.

Ruby laughed off his forgetfulness

"Grayson! Ruby!" Mrs Valentine called "Shelley's coming in for a cup of tea, would you like some?"

"No thanks" Grayson said "we need to get something from the car. Have fun Shelley!"

And with that, Shelley waved at the pair and went inside.

*

"I'll be honest" Grayson said, as he put his jars down and unlocked the car "none of it has been sorted."

"That's okay" Ruby replied "my stuff is all lights anyway, except jeans."

She bent down into the car and grabbed her blue laundry bag

"What's this??" she asked, pulling the bag out into the grass "there's sand everywhere!"

Grayson panicked "oh I think it's just on the outside" he reassured her 

"I should hope so! These have just been washed!" she said, as she brushed the sand off.

Ruby looked into the car and saw piles of sand where her bag had been, and on the seat too, as if it had been brought back on someone's body. There was also an earring that looked to belong to Priscilla, discarded on the floor.

Grayson could see Ruby staring at the mess and analysing it, the cogs turning in her mind.

"Grayson" she asked "what were you three doing on the beach?"

Grayson panicked even more. He knew that if they were just going for a walk they wouldn't bring back that much sand.

"Um..." he said unhelpfully.

A red blush spread across his face, and he could see Ruby eyeing his expression, as the final puzzle pieces of her mind fit into place.

"Oh my God!" she said as she rose to her feet "Really??"

"Shh!" he replied

"What all three of you?" she asked in a stage whisper 

"Yes yes but you can't tell anyone" he pleaded "Valentine will be very upset if I break their trust, and Priscilla will be furious."

"Well of course of course I won't but- is that why you were gone for so long? Didn't you think we would be worried? We sent out a search party over THIS?"

"Ruby Ruby" he soothed, trying to calm her down, "we did genuinely get abducted by pirates. That's not a joke. Priscilla was held at sword point! I need you to understand the situation is still serious."

Ruby took a deep breath and composed herself 

"Okay" she said "I'm sorry. I'm glad you're all okay."

With that she bent down and unzipped her bag, revealing several dresses and tops. To her relief, the clothes inside were still clean and dry.

"Hallelujah" she breathed.

She pulled out Eaven's bag and inspected it the same way. Again it was clean and dry inside.

"Well" she said, straightening up "I learned a bit more than I wanted to there, but I'm glad you're all okay."

Grayson thanked her.

"And if you do something like that again-"

"When." Grayson corrected her

"Wh-? Oh! When you do, um, try not to get kidnapped by pirates and panic the entire group I guess!"

Grayson shyly thanked Ruby for her advice, and she picked up her and Eaven's bags and rushed off, literally running away from the awkwardness. Grayson sighed in exasperation, and began the laborious task of shaking the sand off of other people's laundry bags, wishing he was drinking tea with Shelley and the Valentines instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'd rather take some abuse and live in society than cast myself out of it" - Priscilla Pruneau.


	18. The dawn

The morning light peeked in at the window of Priscilla's vardo, hitting the hanging prisms, and making rainbows across Priscilla and Grayson's bodies. The couple lay for a moment in a deep slumber, unaware of the rising sun and the singing of the birds, then the alarm sounded. 

Grayson stirred as the tiny hammer hit the metal bells of Priscilla's alarm clock.

"Turn it off" he groaned

Priscilla reached over and turned off the alarm 

"Rise and shine" she said cheerfully 

"Ugh" Grayson replied

It's time to feed the horses" she reminded him "come on" 

"Nooo" he groaned 

"You can't stay in my bed all morning, babe" she said "people will see you leaving. You need to leave now. Here, I'll put some music on" and she walked to the record player to find a song that would help him wake up. 

Grayson and Priscilla walked the glade carrying bags of horse feed. Anyone who looked out and saw them together would think that Grayson had simply woken up early to help Priscilla. They started by feeding Priscilla's horse, Blackberry, and then moved on to the accessible vardos and fed Lorenzo's horse.

"It was nice to take Shelley out blackberry picking" said Priscilla. "I admit that I was going to check on her but then fell asleep" 

"Don't worry about it." Grayson replied "She was fine. She was more worried about the fact she missed out on the action- apparently she wants to go on an 'adventure!' " 

"Well I hope for her sake she doesn't!" Priscilla replied, "Those pirates are extremely dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Me neither" Grayson replied, taking a handful of grain to Emilie's horse "but somehow she's got a taste for adventure, and she thinks she could manage one."

"You never know" Priscilla replied "She might surprise you!"

*

Priscilla and Grayson walked to Mrs Moon's vardo, after they'd finished feeding the horses. Grayson climbed the steps and knocked on the door, and was greeted by a cheerful Shelley.

"Are we going to set the faeries free?" she asked 

"Yeah we are!" Grayson replied "then Priscilla has to muck out the horses, and she needs someone really strong to help her"

"I'm really strong!" Shelley exclaimed

"That's great!" Priscilla replied

Shelley called out a goodbye to her mother, grabbed her jar of faeries, and hopped down the steps. Grayson and Priscilla watched as she skipped away to the forest, lagging behind, unable to match her boundless energy.

* 

As the group walked into the forest, they saw Ruby coming the other way. 

"You're up early" Priscilla remarked

Ruby lifted her basket of driftwood "I've been collecting this" she said "and I _may_ have also cast a salt circle and protection spell around the entrance to the forest."

"Really? After yesterday?" Priscilla asked, concerned at anyone going anywhere near the pirates beach.

"Meh" Ruby shrugged. "Are those faeries?" she asked. 

Shelley held up her jar proudly "we have to put them back in the forest or otherwise it's cruel" she told her 

"Hello little ones!" Ruby cooed. The faeries waved hello.

"Right, I'll see you guys at breakfast" she said, awkwardly nodding at Grayson as she passed.

"She is fearless." Priscilla remarked 

"Yep" Grayson replied "that won't end well."


End file.
